2.8. Blood Glucose Levels and Obesity Flashcards
What can chronic blood glucose levels lead to?
Atherosclerosis and blood vessel damage.
What happens if diabetes is left untreated?
The endothelium absorb more glucose than needed which can cause damage. This may lead to atherosclerosis, CVD, stroke or PVDs.
What three hormones are most important in the regulation of blood glucose levels?
Adrenaline, Glucagon and Insulin.
Where in the body are blood glucose levels measured?
The pancreas.
What happens in the body when blood glucose levels are too high?
The pancreas secretes more insulin than glucagon. Insulin makes the liver cells more permeable to glucose and activates the glucose to glycogen conversion. This will decrease blood sugar levels.
What happens in the body when blood glucose levels are too low?
The pancreas secretes more glucagon than insulin. The glycogen to glucose conversion is activated instead which raises blood sugar levels.
What happens to our blood glucose levels during exercise?
Glucose levels are raised by adrenaline released from the adrenal glands. This stimulates glucagon secretion and inhibits insulin secretion. Glucagon secretion as we know, increased glucose levels.
What is the cause of type-1 diabetes?
Someones biological inability to produce insulin. It occurs usually in childhood and can be treated by regular insulin injections.
What is the cause of type-2 diabetes?
This type occurs mainly in overweight people. People with type-2 produce insulin, but their cells are less sensitive to it. This is linked to a decrease in the number of insulin receptors on liver cells leading to thew glucose to glycogen conversion not being activated. Treatment includes dietary adjustments.
What is a good way to test for diabetes?
Urine samples.
How is obesity characterised?
An excess of body fat in relation to lean muscle.
How do you calculate BMI?
Body weight (kg) / Height (m^2)
If someone had a BMI of 31, what category would they fall under?
Obese.
What is a disadvantage of BMI?
The additional weight on someone could be muscle, not fat.
What is a more accurate measurement of body fat?
Body density measurement due to fat being less dense than muscle.
